There are a lot of popular professional wrestlers who are lightning rods for intense debate. Jade Cargill is such a performer. Whether it was her dominant run in All Elite Wrestling or her current tenure in WWE, there are opinions across the board about the former champion. She recently dropped a championship contest to Tiffany Stratton, leading to an odd online narrative that her push is completely over and her run in WWE has failed. That’s quite the stance to take and one that is inherently incorrect.
During Night One of SummerSlam 2025, Stratton and Cargill had a seven-minute match with Stratton, the current WWE Women’s Champion, picking up the win. It was a decent match, nothing spectacular. Akin to much of Cargill’s work both in WWE and AEW. Yet, that hasn’t stopped fans and commentators alike from declaring Cargill’s overall push completely over.
Take the August 7 episode of The Stevie Richards show titled “Jade Cargill’s WWE Push is Finished.” Richards and the co-host run through a list of issues with Cargill’s work and why she hasn’t improved enough to be considered a top star. The commentary touches on everything from in-ring performance to backstage rumors and more speculation. The conversation highlights the points of some of Cargill’s biggest detractors and her biggest supporters at the same time.
Is Cargill great in the ring? No. In many ways, it is right to question whether she’s even serviceable at this level. Nearly five years into her career, she doesn’t appear to be as sound in the ring as several others making their way through the NXT system. These types of criticisms are hard to ignore because the proof is right there when the bell rings.
But where things begin to get problematic is when the narrative dives into speculation about Cargill’s attitude, behavior backstage, or relationships with coworkers. These are the types of conversations are the ones that raise eyebrows because they quickly devolve into language that is typically used to denigrate Black women in the workplace. Especially in an industry that is as adverse to diversity as professional wrestling.
To deem Jade Cargill’s push as “over” because she’s lost one match is a bit of a stretch. Several top names have lost matches over the years. This is a scripted show where winners and losers are determined in advance. The idea that WWE couldn’t book Cargill strongly and slot her right back into a title picture is wildly incorrect. Will they do that? Well, that’s a different conversation altogether. Still, Cargill shouldn’t be deemed a “failure” because of one loss in a title match. That’s a disingenuous stance that can become questionable if pushed too hard over time.